An Appraisal of Pentecostal Children’s Understanding of Sex and Sexuality

Employing African feminist cultural hermeneutics, this study analyzes the perceptions and understandings of sex and sexualities among African Pentecostal children (both girls and boys) living in Pietermaritzburg between the ages of 8 to 14 years. The findings show that Pentecostal churches that formed the context of this study do not explicitly teach children about issues of sex and sexualities but that there are subtle ways in which they still pass on the message to them. Sex and sexualities are a silent or hidden teaching among these churches. It is like a silent curriculum that children draw on in their navigation of growing up. The study concludes that children need to be made aware of sexuality and gender diversity and how they are to act if faced with any of the situations and challenges stated related to these questions.